TA Sports go back-to-back
Team shows real grit in holding off a desperate Matamata side
Ecolab Te Awamutu Sports made it two wins from two with an ugly, grinding win at Bedford Park, defeating United Matamata Sports 25-20 to move into the top four after two weeks and claiming the George Simpkin Power Farming Shield.
Despite taking maximum competition points from the contest, Sports will feel they left scoreboard points behind through untimely errors and a heavy penalty count. However, they showed real grit and heart in holding off the desperate Matamata side in challenging conditions.
Doubles to both Matthew Towers and Niah Church-Jones featured for Te Awamutu, while fullback Dillon Martin battled the blustery and wet conditions to add a conversion and a penalty goal.
Waikato and Crusaders pivot Taha Kemara returned for his first appearance for the club since the 2021 quarter-final against Hautapu.
It was the hosts who struck first after controlling the opening five minutes, when a clever chip kick landed between two defenders, took a wicked bounce and fell fortuitously into Matamata hands to take an early 0-5 lead.
Sports then shook off the early rust to gain some ascendancy but were not rewarded with points until the 26th minute.
A wide pass from Kemara put winger Leo Scott outside his man and down the left flank, finding Towers outside him, who stepped inside the last man to score beside the posts. Martin’s conversion took the lead back.
Sports scored again 10 minutes later when halfback Zealin Prime darted down the blind side from a scrum, opening up winger Caleb Wright who chipped ahead and in the ensuing chaos, Towers pounced on the loose ball to claim his second and a 12-5 lead with four minutes to play in the half.
However, Matamata caught out a staggered defensive line in the final minute, replying in the left corner to trail 12-10 at the break.
The sides traded penalties to open the second half before Church-Jones broke the game open. He caught the defence short down the blind side after an attacking raid on the line, then a few minutes later exploded off the base of the scrum to run 20 metres down the right sideline and crash over the cover defence to give his side a 25-13 lead.
Matamata answered through their big forward pack at the hour mark, setting up a tantalising last quarter.
Despite opportunities on both sides to take the game from the other, the stalemate continued deep into the half until Te Awamutu wrested the initiative and pinned the hosts deep in their territory.
A smothering defensive line was enough to seal the win.
For Sports, it was a case of winning ugly, but winning nonetheless. Loose forward Matthew Towers stood out with a man of the match performance.
He was backed up by fellow loose forwards Church-Jones and captain Jake Russ, the trio leading the way with massive workloads.
Locks Tevita Toli and Seth Leslie also impressed in just their second games with the club, while midfielder J’ndre Liebenberg carried strongly into the teeth of the hosts’ defence.
Sports face a stiff challenge this Saturday at Albert Park, with unbeaten torohanga coming to town, hot on the heels of an impressive 40-12 win over Morrinsville Sports.
Ecolab Premier Development
Much like their Premier counterparts, the Ecolab Premier Development side made life hard for themselves, but rode a blistering opening 10 minutes to a 22-15 win over United Matamata Sports B to sit in second spot after two weeks.
Winger CJ Kaua, midfielder Austin Frederick and loose forward Jarrod Matangi picked up tries.
Fullback George Poolman added two conversions and a penalty goal.
Sports exploded out of the gates, stretching the Matamata defence to the left, where Kaua crossed in the seventh minute,.
This was followed almost immediately by halfback Jamie Cave splitting the defence open from the base of the ruck.
He found a looping Frederick, who took the offload and sprinted 30 metres untouched for an early 14-0 lead.
Matamata opened their account with a penalty goal soon after, then a try at the 25-minute mark.
From there both sides struggled in the wet and windy conditions.
A combined lack of flow in the game from penalties and mistakes meant the score remained the same until the break.
Poolman added a penalty to stretch the lead after the break to 17-8 but it wasn’t until the 77th minute, when Matangi crashed over from close range to extend their lead to 22-8, that Sports gained the cushion they wanted.
Desperate to stay in touch in the closing stages, Matamata threw caution to the wind and were rewarded with a try with moments to spare, but Te Awamutu held off the frantic final seconds to stay unbeaten.